From Sierra Maestra to La Habana: The Drawings of Chago

The Drawing

Center's

NG PA"T 'R.S IT From Sierra Maestra to La H abdnit: The Drawings of Ehago

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r7 From Sierra Maestrato La HaDdrrd: The Drawings of Ehago Curated by Lurs Ceprurrznnand Senone Cnner-r,os

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Julito 26, in El cubnno libre, rygg.

Ink on paper, 5 7/2 x 6 l/8 in. (14 x 15.6cm) 'THE BALLS. Now we defrnitely stay on page twoi'

Dunrxc rHE LATE ErcHrrES I polled young Cuban artists to find out the artists they considered to have had a major influence on their work. One of the names cited most frequently was Chago. Known for his humor in addressing the subjects of philosophy, eroticism, and eschatology, Santiago "Chago" Armada (I957-lgg5) was not an artist seen in galleries or museums. Rather he was famous for having been the cartoonist of the revolutionary troops while they were operating in the Sierra Maestra. His having drawn (and fought) next to Che Guevara and Fidel Castro gave the art trade as much revolutionary aura as conceivably possible.' At that time (1958) he created 'Tulito 26," a character that commented critically on current social issues. Before joining the rebel army, Chago had been a member of the 26 de Julio movement, the first revolutionary drive against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Accordingly, he named his character in honor of that group.

To younger artists, Chago was also known for his irreverence with respect to the taboos of a prudish society, a position expressed in drawings that cannot be easily classified either as cartoons or as art. His acerbic and often pessimistic humor did not elicit great enthusiasm in official circles, and, in spite of his stature and the tolerant atmosphere of the early sixties, his book El humor otro (Humor, the Other) was not allowed to circulate after its publication in 1965 and an exhibit of his work was cancelled in 1965. Chago, increasingly skeptical, started a process of withdrawal from the art scene. Many of his colleagues who also laid the ground for the new art of the 1980s-Antonia Eiriz, Umberto Pefla, and Jesris de Armas, among others-went through a similar process of disengagement. In 7967 Chago became the artistic director of the government newspaper Granma, a post he held until his death, and he continued drawing, mostly as a private activity. For younger generations Chago became a symbol of revolutionary purity, respected for his criticizing "from within

the Revolution" (in keeping with the Cuban leadership's dictum). Once the Revolution settled into power, Chago became a critic of Cuban social mores and addressed existential issues that escaped the ideological constraints favored by the political establishment of the time.'?

Chago has two important predecessorsin Cuban art history: Eduardo Abela (18911965) and Rafael Blanco (1895-1955),both of whom were successful cartoonists and respected artists who helped shape Cuban modernism. Unlike Abela and Blanco, who kept their different professions relatively distinct, Chago brought both fields together to generate a balanced hybrid. He did not achieve this by exchanging the media of cartoons for the materials of art, or by making one practice the content of the other. At its best, his work is a seamless conjunction that escapes classification.

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Julito 26 in EI cubano libre, 7959 Ink on paper.2 7/8 \ I 1 /l $ i n.

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Chago's mind did not seem to perceive a hierarchy or a borderlinel the awareness that a merging has taken place actually describes the viewer's experience more than the actions of the artist.

Chago was not educated as an artist (his studies had been in accounting), and he was not particularly interested in aesthetic speculations either about modernism or any of its post-modern variants. In this respect his work may seem somewhat conservative, even outdated, when compared to international trends and to Cuban modernism. Chago drew (in both senses of the word) from a personal and a social experience that emphasized the vernacular. It is from there that he evolved his philosophical sophistication. His personal development alternately parallels and fits into the struggle of revolutionary Cuba to find an authentic voice uncontaminated by market canons.

Chago's autonomy led him to be unconcerned with issues of style and allowed him to find an integration within his practice that stands for much more than the blurring of drawing and cartooning. He merged drawing with knowledge. As early as 1965 he called his art "humor gnosis," and drawing became a methodological tool.

This integrative approach also contributed to Chago's appeal to the new Cuban artists who rose to prominence in the 1980s.Demagogic populism, dogmatism, and intolerance were intellectual threats, even if dormant, to their appreciation of the Revolution. Chago represented authenticity. In 1980 the government again cancelled an exhibition of his, this one called "\Alhat Am I Laughing About? or The Universe Every Day3' A few months later the exhibition "Volumen I" opened in Havana, officially bringing to the fore the group of young artists who were changing the rules governing Cuban art and who eventually brought about what is now known as the "Cuban Renaissancel"

Salom6n: Curinto tiempo perdido! from the series"El cal6n (The Box)," r965 Ink on paper, ll 7/76 x 14 9/16 in. (29 x 57 cm) "Salom6n: How much wasted time! Those nine months between the embryo and my birthi'

Salr,tm6n:Un tanto incipiente Salomdn: Somewhat incipient, ry65 l nL on paper . f 0 l 5l 16 x 14 1/4 i n. ( 27.5 \ 77.5 c m) "I left perturbed. I remained somewhat incipient.

And during the following centuries, I was able to fulfill my first wishesl'

Cubos con dos proyecciones (Cubes with Til;o Projections), from the series "El caj6n, el encajonamiento (The Box, the Boxing)," l965 Ink on paper, 1Ol/4 x 14 5/16 in. (26 x 56 cm)

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Ink on paper, 9 7/8 x I l/4 in. (25 x 25.5 cm)

The power of bureaucracy and what he perceived as pervasive platitudes nurtured Chago's reluctance toward the art scene and prevented him from having a closerthan-symbolic relation with this artistic break. One of the new artists, also firmly rooted in both cartooning and fine art, endeavored to give Chago greater public recognition. Vt/hile a student, Tonel (Antonio Eligio Ferndndez) made Chago the subject matter of his research. Once established as a cartoonist, Tonel organized the 1981 show "Humor: Chago y Toneli'The homage, which affirmed Chago's stature as an influential artist among the young, did not persuade him to make himself more visible.

Chago's drawing career started in grade school. Asked to bring in a drawing of a Christmas tree, he cheated by delivering one drawn by his mother. The teacher liked it so much that she asked him to give a second rendition on the blackboard, He did and, with it, discovered his future. The present exhibition, while modest in scope, provides an overview of Chago's career. It starts with some examples of his Sierra Maestra comics. Competent and to the point, Chago's work at age twenty-one picked up on issues of popular interest. VVhile the dictatorship depicted the guerrillas as a small erratic group of bearded thugs, his drawings helped to give them an image of stability, organization, and power. By signaling that the movement was substantive, his cartoons served to decry the government's efforts to minimize the revolution in process. "Bearded" became a positive symbol. The guerrilla movement not only possessedthe luxury of its own comic strip but also the capability of printing and circulating it. Thus, the subtext of the art became much more important than

the art itself, for it suggested that the fighters in the hills were not merely a ragtag band of outcasts, but also an alternative society, autonomous and self-sufficient, and capable of replacing the existing government and social order.

After victory the 26 de Julio movement lost its significance as such; Julito 26 was in danger of becoming an offlcial character, thus at odds with Chago's rebellious nature.4In 1961, Chago created a new personage, Salom6n, who became a vehicle for what can be called his "mind-travelsl' Intensely subjective and skeptical, Salom6n posed questions that were rarely celebrated by the new government.

Increasingly exploring his own bafflement and anguish, Chago used his strip to complain about life's conundrums, for example the time wasted between conception and birth (at least in terms of seeking answers to his questions), or the alarming discovery that at noontime, in Cuba, shadows hide under people. This especially introspective period led him to develop a style somewhat reminiscent of that of Alfred Kubin. His artistic handwriting became expressive and, aside from his comic strips and cartoons, he compulsively created drawings in which his pen and brush strokes were in tune with an increasingly tortured image. Dialogue and communication (or their opposites, monologue and the failure to communicate) are his main concerns in this darkened world. Interlocutors cannibalize each other, a severed hand metamorphosizes into a resentful dog, a man emerges from a pile of dirt adopting some of its formal qualities, and Socialism appears in danger of becoming the topic of idle chatter (or a background music to be ignored).

During his life, Chago had only seven one-person shows, five in official galleries (one in 1975 and.two each in 1978 and 1986) and two in 1995 in Espacio Aglutinador, an alternative gallery space directed by his friend, the artist Sandra Ceballos.s Chago died of a heart attack shortly after his last exhibition. Sandra, in turn, co-curated the present exhibition at The Drawing Center, Chago's first outside of Cuba.u

Notes: 1. Chago fought in several battles of the Rebel Army, among them Jigiie, el Naranjal, and Purial6n. He also was in charge of a convoy of twenty-two trucks that brought supplies to the National Militia during the Bay of Pigs invasion.

2. Cuban critic Gerardo Mosquera points out that Chago "fulfilled all the prerequisites to become Cuba's official humorist, a possibility he systematically set asidel' "He lived the orderly life of an oflice worker and a good family man, while he drew farts, extolled pornography, and questionedthe universel' Mosquera, "Chago: Existir en eI cosmos," in Chago: Nace el topo, exhibition catalogue (Havana: Espacio Aglutinador,

1ee5).

5. The artists that participated in this exhibition were Jos6 Bedia, Juan Francisco Elso Padilla, Jos6 Manuel Fors, Flavio Garciandia, Israel Le6n, Rogelio L6pez Marin (Gory), GustavoP6rez Monz6n, Ricardo Rodriguez Brey, Tomiis Siinchez,Leandro Soto, and Rub6n Torres Llorca.

4. I thank Gerardo Mosquera for this analysis.

5. The Espacio Aglutinador exhibitions were curated by Sandra Ceballos,Ezequiel Sudrez,and Orlando Herniindez.

6. I would like to thank the Cuban artist Tania Bruguera. It was due to hel suggestion that this exhibition is taking place in The Drawing Center's Drawing Room.

Subuso,tgSt Ink on paper, 8 7/2 x 79 17/16 in. (21.5x 50 cm)

Una mano d6cil (A Docile Hand), l98I Ink on paper, lI x 8 7/4 in. (98 x 21 cm)

The Last Ehago SlNona Cnnar-r-os I am my ou)n corpse.

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t999 It was quite a small place. I was sitting by a window overlooking the backyard.

Dali G.' came into the salonnholding a cup of coffee, and asked me, "Do you want to have lunch? In this house there is always food for artists. Back in the sixties Chago's friends used to come over and eat together: Umberto Pefla, Edmundo Desnoes, Samuel Fei;'oo,'Pepe,the nuts,' Fonticella....Theywould smoke and talk on and on for hours. They talked about art, politics, philosophy, metaphysics, life, the Tao....Me,I made them something to eat and cried out, 'Poets,the beans are on the table, come and get it!"'

While I was sipping the delicious coffee my eyes ran over the walls lined with books, all belonging to Chago, which he had meticulously covered. They had been well read-Laots6, Jung, Dick Tlacy, Marx and Engels, Shopenhauer, Rogelio Rayos, Virgilio Piflera, Hegel, etc. As the years went by, Chago had not only accumulated knowledge of and books on diverse subjects, but had also passionately collected comic strips. He would study and analyze them thoroughly; later he classified them and put them carefully into boxes that, most of the time, he made himself. There they still lie, piled up, some from the 1920s, others from the forties, eighties, and so on, by figures such as Max Fleischer, Charles Flanders, Alfonso Tirado, Saul Steinberg, and Lyman Anderson, among others.

1994 Finally, we made it into his house. On the walls, very well designed, hung works by Umberto Pefla, Samuel Feijoo, Lolo Soldevilla, Tapia Ruano, Rafl Martinez, and also his very own, Chago's. There, swinging in the space, inside the earth, between galaxies and constellations, vibrating with energy, between the shadows and the moonlight, ferreting through entangled labyrinths, silently inside a cube, in the black, sunken space, surrounded by onomatopoeic sounds, was that wiff, moody, insolent, thoughtful, existentialist, sui generis character created by Chago: Salom6n.

Chago gave me his book, El humor otro (Humor, the Other). Vfhen I opened it, the flrst drawing I came upon was Sesudos,sesudosy sesudos(Smartasses,Smartasses, and Smartasses).

Automatically I feel my lips begin to smile. There is a kind of candid but mischievous complicity between us. Is it my thought? Is it my reading? Is it his intention?

But no, none of this is important. The essential fact is the slight smile, the refrained spasm running up the esophagus and bursting into the mouth; the pleasure you feel when you know it is not a facial contortion caused by the falseness of a toothed grimace. In that obsessive journey of mine along that smile, I discover a new Salom6n, who, sitting on one of his legs, asks with resignation, "And a suicide, what is he?" "An impatient man," replies his shadow. Chago's art was his very existence represented without agony but with cynicism.

Once I went over his drawings I quickly realized I was dealing with something impossible to define or label. Something quite distant from the drunkenness of the art surrounding us that is all the time breaking out, like viruses do in the summer.

You will not find his work in a pile of pretentious objects to be displayed to critics or speculators because it will not be there to compete. Instead, charged with all its energy, it will distribute itself among us, we who are addicted to good art. It will dissolve into the dust inside a room; it will beat away in the earth and in the dark boxes kept by his widow.

His work is not doctoral but rather self-sufficient. One cannot easily say it is conclusive or definite. It is nature itself, beating away and evolving as it takes part in our feelings and emotions. While making us meditate, it regenerates, feeds, sucking our blood with vampire-like obstinacy so as to stimulate our addiction to it and contaminate us with its judiciousness. For Chago, to meditate did not mean thinking mechanically or out of inertia. Meditating involves a whole system of information, experiences, and muscular exercising of the brain. In fact, his humor as he calls it: tthumor otrot' (tthumor, the other"), *humor ninguno" ("humor none"), or *humor gnosis" is not at all hermetical or elitist. It simply discriminates with wise crudity.

Unfortunately, good art has never been popular, and neither are crowds ready for certain reflections. Chago Armada's work unfolded quite apart from the diasporas of Cuban art marginalized by mediocrity and backwardness.

For ten years he lived in retirement in his small apartment in one of those microbrigada buildings,'located in Cerro Municipality. Then in 1995 he had two solo exhibitions, without censorship, at Espacio Aglutinador, an independent art space in Havana. t958-2000 Chago dissolved himself among accurate (though in no way cold or calculated) pen strokes and suggestive texts, among great extensions colored in black and strictly ordered, among object symbols carefully assembled, and among colors not used at random but carefully applied on small sheets of paper.

He projected order in an almost pathological way but at the same time paradoxically, spontaneously, without mathematics. This is another of the qualities that confirm his natural gift, which is his alone and so consequent with his instinct. It is a gift that achieves a somewhat disquieting balance which at times we find annoying but that seduces us most of the time.

I saw black sparks drowning in his face like the eyes of a frightened mouse. t958 "We climbed the mountain. We were almost children seeking adventures and a taken-for-granted justice. Then I became a soldierl' Notes: 1. Dali G. is Dali Garcia, Chago'swife since 1959.They met during the guerilla warfare at the Sierra Maestra.

9. Due to the charge of "illegal construction" in February 1999,the little salon, covered with books, was torn down by a demolition brigade wielding sledge hammers and acting on behalf of the Ministry of Urban Architecture.

5. Initiated in Cuba in the 1960s,a microbrigada building is a construction system for serial buildings using prefabricated modules and built by volunteer groups.

Biography Senrueo Raneor- Anlreoa SuLnBz (Chago) was born in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba on June 20, 1957.He died in Havana in May of 1995. He made his first drawings in Santiago,when he was studying to be an accountant. A member of the M-26-7 rebel group, he joined the rebel army in Sierra Maestra. He participated in both military actions and the creation of the guerrilla newspaper El cubano librefor which he conceived his comic slrip Julito 26 (May 1958). He also composed lyrics for songs aired by "Radio Rebeldel' In 1960 he started the humor magazine El Pitirre.

A year later he created Salom6n, a character on which he worked for many years and which was published in the paper Reuoluci6n.In 1965, his flrst book, ,El humor otro (Humor, the Other) was published. TWo years later he redefined his approach to humor with the term "humor gnosisS'In 1967he participated in the execution of a collective mural on the occasion of the "Sal6n de Mayo" (the Paris exhibition brought to Cuba by Wifredo Lam). At the same time he also developeda series with eschatological and sexual subject matter, which led him to later define himself as a o'prescientpioneer of that pre-post-pornographic prattlei' From 1967 until 1995 he was the art editor and designer of the newspaper Granma. Over the years, Chago received honors and awards, among them the Medal for National Culture from the Cuban Ministry of Culture. His work is in the collections of the Museo de Bellas Artes of Cuba and the Museo del Humor in San Antonio de los Baflos, Havana.

Solo Exnibitions 2()()0 "Salom6n," Centro de Desarrollo de las , avana Arte s V i s u a l e s H r ggS

r 996

"El inquietante umbral de lo simb6lico" (The Disturbing Threshold of the Symbolic), Galeria Habana, Havana "Leviintate Chago, no jodas Ldzaro" (Chago Rise Up, Don't Bug Me

Ldzaro), in conjunction with the artist LAzaro Saavedra,Espacio Aglutinador, Havana lggs

"Nace el topo"(The Mole is Born), and "Eyaculaciones con antecedentespenales" (Ejaculations with a Penal Record), Espacio Aglutinador, Havana

r 986

"Risa de los enigmas para desreir humores" (The Laugh of Enigmas to Un-laugh Humors), Galeria Servando Moreno, Havana

r 986

"R6fagas de garabato en pequeflo formato o de los anhelos y esperanzassin piedad" (Gusts of Small Format Scribbles or of Pitiless Longings and Hopes), Galeria Juan David, Havana

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'oHumor: Chago y Tonel," with the artist Antonio Eligio Ferniindez (Tonel), Galeria del Cerro, Havana

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"De qu6 me rio? o El universo a diario" (What Am I Laughing About? or The Universe Everyday), cancelled

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"Sierra y llano, humorismo" (Ridge and Plain, Humor), Galeria Carlos Manuel Câ‚Źspedes,Havana

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"Diseflo de prisa"(Hurried design), Galeria L, Havana

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"Humor gnosis, ninguno, otro" (Humor Gnosis, None, Other), Granma, Havana

1965

"La Kaka: El humor ninguno"(Doo Doo: The None Humor). cancelled

Worhs ln the Exmbifion Unless othemise

noted, all are ink on paper and in the collection of Dali Garcia, Havana. within a given year. and alphabetically

Works are listed chronologically

Julito 26, 1958 6 5/16x 8 7/8 in. (16x 22.5 cm)

Julito 26, 1958 8 1l/16 x 11 l/4 |n. (22x 28.5cm)

Julito 26,1959

5 l / 2 x 5 7 / 8 i n . ( 1 4x 1 5cm )

Algo (Something),1965 14x9 5/8 in. (35.5x 24.5cm)

El embudo (The Ftunnel), 1.965 I0 l/4 x 14 3/8 in. (26x 36.5cm)

Kosmos,from the series "El caj6n (The Box)," 1965 9 1/16x 12 3/16 in. (23x 31 cm)

Salom6ry t965 l0 13/16x 14 3/4 Ln.(27.5 x 37.5 cm)

Salomdn, 1965 1 1x 1 4 9 / 1 6 i n . ( 2 8x 3 7 .5cm )

Salomdn: Cudnto tiempo perdido (Salornon: How Much Time Wasted),from the series "El caj6n (The Box)," 1965 l l 7 / 1 6 x 1 4 9 / 1 6 L n .( 2 9 x3 7 cm )

Salontdn: LIn Thnto Incipiente (Salomon: Somewhat Incipient), 1965 l0 13/16x 14 3/4 in. (27.5 x 37.5 cm)

[Jna quijada a placer (,4 Jaw up to Tiiste), fuorn the series "Los orificios (The Orifices)," 1965 l l 1 3 / 1 6x 1 + 1 5 / 1 6in . ( 3 0x 3 8 cm )

Vaginari st a (l/ag in aris t), l9 6 5 l3 3/4 x 10 5/8 in. (35x27 cm)

Salom6n: Un solo de solo (Salomon: One Only Jrom Only),1964 16 15/16x 12 3/8 in. (43x 31.5cm)

Cubos con dos proyecciones (Cubes with Two Projections), from the series ooElcaj6n, el encajonamiento (The Box, The Boxing)," 1965 l0 l/4 x 14 3/16 in. (26x 36 cm)

IYo hay salida (There is No E:rit), from the series'osecuenciasnarrativas abstractas (Abstract Narrative Sequences),"1966 i 4 x 11i n. (35.5x 28 cm)

[]ntitled, from the series "Secuencias narrativas abstractas (Abstract Narrative Sequences)," 1966 14x 11i n. (35.5x 28 cm)

iAh, lo erpansiL)o,,4h, lo siniestro! (Oh, The Erpansiae, Oh, The Sinister!), 1967 19 11/16x 12 5/8 in. (50x 32 cm)

Calibdn geru.(flero (Gen4flered Caliban), 1968 19 1l/16 x 12 5/8 in. (50x 32 cm) CollectionEspacioAglutinador,Havana

El ditilogo orido (The Arid Dialogae), ftom the series "Lo amorfo y descorazonador (The Amorphous and Disheartening)," 1968 Ink and sandon paper 14 9/16 x 12 3/8 in. (37x 31.5cm)

Pruggg!, from the series "Lo amorfo y descorazonador (The Amorphous and Disheartening)," 1968 12x 14 15/16in. (30.5x 38 cm)

Bipingo,1964

Salomdn, from the series "Domina el di6logo (Dialogue Dominates)," 1968

1 2 7 / 1 6 x 1 7 1 / 8 i n . ( 3 1 .5x4 3 .5 cm )

12 5/8 x 19 ll/16 in. (32x 50 cm)

Celadas de espejo (Mircor T?aps), 1.964

Salomdn, from the series "Domina el diiilogo (Dialogue Dominates)," 1968

l1 x 14 3/4 in. (28x 37.5cm)

El cometubo (The Pipe Eater), from the series "Penesy chochopenas,"1964 19 l/8 x 12 7/16 in. (48.5x 31.5cm)

Eternidad (Eternity), l9 64 9 5/8 x 14 3/4 in. (24.5x 37.5cm)

Intffilicos con tndscara ("Intifalicos" with Mash), from the series "Penesy chochopenas," t964 11x 15 3/8 in. (28 x 19 cm)

Pingajos, t964 1 1 7 / 1 6 x 8 7 / 1 6 i n .( 2 9x2 1 .5cm )

Salom6n, 1964 16 15/16x 12 3/8 in. (43x 31.5cm)

12 5/8 x 19 1I/16 in. (32x 50 cm)

Salom6n y Julito: Neuralgia por un traje mal entallado (Salomon and Julito: Neuralgia Becauseof an lll-Suited Suit), from the series "La chanson du cond6n (The Song ofthe Condom)." 1968 12 5/8 x 19 11/16in. (32x 50 cm)

Smog de las constelaciones(Constellation Smog), 1968 19 ll/16 x 12 5/8 in. (50x 32 cm) Collection EspacioAglutinador,Havana

k amarla artn nlds sifueras ertrahumano (I Would Loue You Euen More if You WereEatra Human), 1968 19 11/16x 12 5/8 Ln.(50x 32 m)

trzisionaristay uisionarista a rnedias (Itisionary and Semi-I/isionary), from the series "Muengos, muencos o muecos. Peneso chochopenas," 1968 12 5/8 x 19 ll/16 in. (32x 50 cm)

El preseruatiuo social (Social Condom), from the series "La chanson du condon (The Song of the Condom)," l97O Ink and gouacheon paper 19 ll/16 x 12 5/8 in. (50 x 32 cm)

untitled 1970 9 I/4 x I 7/8 in. (23.5 x 25 cm) untitle4 tgTo 9 7/8 x9 t/4 in. (25 x95.5 crn) Untitled, 1975 12 5/8 x 18 7/8 in. (52 x 48 cm) untitled 1975 12 5/8 x tg tl/16 in. (52 x 50 cm) Untitled,lgSO ll x 8 l/4 in. (28 x 2l cm) Cathtrofe eldstica (Elastic Catastrophe), 198l ll x 8 I/4 in. (98 x2l crrl) La coincidencia opositora (The Opposing Coincidence), l98l ll x I l/4 in. (28 x 91 cm) Llora el poruenir del tiempo (The Ftuture of Time Cries), 1981 ll x 8 l/4 in. (28 x 91 cm)

Majomta del ascenso (Majomia oJ Ascent), l98l ll x 8 t/4 in. (28 x 2l crrr) Subuso. l98l 8 l/2 x 19 ll/16 in. (21.5 x 50 cm) (In pensador (A Thinker), l98l ll x 8 l/4 in. (28 x 91 cm) Una rnano ddcil (A Docile Hand), l98l tt x 8 l/4 in. (98 x 2I cm) Oscuro descendente(Obscure in Descent),1985 ll x 8 l/4 in. (98 x 2l cm) Puertas al iffinito (Doors to lffinity), It x 8 l/4 in. (98 x 91 cm)

1985

Culim.alla de alto uuelo (High Leoel Culimalla), 1991 15 x 15 in. (55 x 55 cm) Falos abasteciCndosepara an uiaie cdsmico (Phaluses Stocking Up for e Cosrnic T?ip), l99I 15 x 13 in. (55 x 55 cm) Falos con gorcosfrigios (Phaluses with Phrygian Caps),l99l 15 x 15 5/16 in. (55 x 55.5 cm) Mandrd.gora erdtica (Erotic Mandrahe), 1991 t5 5/8 x 10 5/8 in. (54 x 27 cm)

The Drawing Center is the only not-for-profit institution in the country to focus solely on the exhibition of drawings, both contemporary and historic. It was established in 1976 to provide opportunities for emerging and under-recognized artists; to demonstrate the significance of drawings throughout history; and to stimulate public dialogue on issues of art and culture.

This is number 17 of the Drawing Papers, a series of publications documenting The Drawing Center's exhibitions and public programs and providing a forum for the study of drawing. The Drawing Papers publication series is printed on Monadnock Dulcet 100# Smooth Text and 80# Dulcet Smooth Cover.

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The Drawing Center 55 Wooster Street New York, NY 10015 "Iel: 219-219-2166 Fax:2t2-966-2976 Designer: Luc Derycke Coordinator: Katie Dyer @ 9000 The Drawing Center

FYont cover: Eterni.dad (Eteruity), I 964

Ink on paper,9 5/8 x 14 3/4 n. Q4.5 x 37.5 cm)

Back cover: Puertas al Iffinito (Doors to lryfinitfl, rg85 I n k o n p a p e r ,l l x 8

1 /4 in .( 2 8 x2 1 cm )